Three hours later, Mandy was happily lying in a real bed, just as she’d hoped to be. There had indeed been a Wal-Mart, and Mandy had easily found the replacement batteries she needed for her radio. She and Russ must have made quite a sight walking through the store. Sure, you were always bound to see strange things at a Wal-Mart in the middle of the night, but Mandy hadn’t realized just how much of a hot mess she was until she noticed that she was getting stares from fellow customers. She’d giggled when she caught sight of Russ and herself in one of the mirrors as they passed the women’s clothing department. They were both streaked with dirt and dried blood, and Russ had a giant bruise on the side of his face. Neither one of them looked like they had brushed their hair in a week. Add to that the fact that Russ attracted attention anyway, thanks to the fact that he was at least a half foot taller than an ordinary man. Mandy also noticed that her dark purple magic ring stood out next to her otherwise torn and dirty clothes. She had been too tired to bother with hiding it from the humans right now. The ring looked like a priceless jewel, and it was priceless to Mandy, of course. No one else would have had any idea just how special that ring really was, though.

Mandy fingered the ring as she lay in the motel bed. She was freshly showered now, and dressed in PJ shorts and a tank top that she’d grabbed off the clearance rack in the store. Russ was still in the shower himself, although he probably wouldn’t be in there too much longer. He’d told her it would only take him about five minutes to rinse off, and, even though she’d told him to take his time, she imagined he was probably eager to get to bed. It had been a long day, to put it mildly.

Mandy bit her lip and looked nervously over to the side of the bed where Russ would soon be joining her. The motel had only had one room open, and the room only had a single king-sized bed. Apparently there was some sort of knitting festival in town this weekend, so the motel was unusually full. Russ had said he didn’t mind sharing the bed with her, and Mandy had said the same. But even though she didn’t mind, she was nervous. They both knew they had feelings for each other. Would any of those feelings be acted on tonight?

Mandy frowned, and shook her head as though she could actually shake that thought out of her head. They were here to rest, not to explore what either of them might be feeling for each other. To distract herself, Mandy turned her thoughts to Torch Lake, wondering whether Jake would be able to catch Commander Hawkins in time. As soon as Mandy and Russ had made it a safe distance away from Wal-Mart, the very first thing they’d done was to radio Jake. They’d explained everything that had happened, and he had not dilly-dallied around talking to them for long. He’d signed off to go call an emergency meeting of the High Council to get a warrant for Commander Hawkins’ arrest. He’d promised to radio back with news as soon as he had it, but so far there had been no word. Mandy wasn’t sure whether she should be worried at this point, but she told herself to remain calm. After all, it could take a little bit of time to get the warrant, and even once they had it, Jake would be much more interested in helping the Torch Lake police capture Commander Hawkins than in updating Mandy about every little thing. She needed to be patient. Jake would contact them as soon as he had real news.

Mandy heard the shower switch off, and a few minutes later Russ stepped into the room wearing only a pair of PJ pants. Mandy tried not to stare at the perfectly defined muscles of his six-pack, or at how broad and masculine his chest was. It was a losing battle, though. His body practically begged to be stared at, battle wounds and all. The bruise on his face had darkened, and she could see now that he had a long, angry gash up the side of his right ribcage. But other than that, he seemed to be as good as new. Even with the bruise, his face was so handsome that Mandy could hardly breathe when she looked at it. In fact, the bruise almost made him look more attractive. He was a fighter. A warrior. A dragon.

“Any word from Jake?” he asked as he came over to the bed and slipped beneath the covers next to her as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

Mandy was still having trouble breathing, but she managed to squeak out a “No.”

Russ sighed. “I suppose we should get some rest while we wait.”

Mandy nodded, and Russ reached to turn out the lights. The sudden darkness felt intimate, and Mandy still found it hard to find her breath. She wondered if Russ felt the electricity in the air between them the way that she did. Was he hyperaware of her body next to him, the way she was of his? For a few minutes, everything was quiet. But just when Mandy was beginning to think that Russ had fallen asleep, he spoke, his voice low and husky in the otherwise still room.

“Thank you for coming for me.”

Then, before she could answer, he reached underneath the blanket and grabbed for her hand. Her heart beat in her chest as he ran his thumb gently back and forth across the inside of her palm, and she willed herself not to tremble. It was hard not to, though. She had craved his touch for so long, and for so long she’d told herself to just accept the fact that she and Russ would never be. But now, here they were, lying in a motel room bed together after perhaps the strangest night of her life. She wanted to say something witty or clever to him, but her mind was mush right now. All she could think about was how she wished he would kiss her. And so, finally, she settled on a quick, short answer.

“Of course.”

There were so many other things she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him that she would always come for him. That Commander Hawkins was a fool for thinking he could take on a dragon. That it had been her pleasure to help Russ fight off the dark wizards. That fighting beside him in battle had only made her want him more than ever before. But she couldn’t manage any other words just then, so she lay perfectly still and concentrated on steadying her breathing. She wondered what Russ was thinking. Was he fighting his own battle of desire as well? Did he want to give in to the pull on his heart as badly as she did? The uncertainty of it all was enough to drive her crazy.

The uncertainty didn’t last much longer though. She heard Russ take a deep breath beside her, and then, he spoke again.

“Do I still need to take you out to dinner before kissing you again, or can I kiss you now if I swear that I’ll take you out as soon as we’re back in Torch Lake?”

Mandy grinned in the darkness. “You can kiss me now, as long as you promise it’ll be a really, really good dinner.”

Russ laughed. “Oh, it will be. I’m a millionaire now, you know. I can take you to the fanciest place you want. Heck, we can even fly to Paris and have dinner by the Eiffel Tower if that’s what you want.”

Mandy’s eyes widened. “Wow. I guess you are a millionaire now. You certainly fulfilled your job requirement of killing a dark monster.”

“I did. At least a dozen times over. But I don’t want to talk about dark monsters right now. I want to kiss you. Was that a yes?”

“Yes.”

Mandy couldn’t hold back the trembling anymore as she felt him shift in the bed, leaning toward her. The exhaustion she’d been feeling was gone in an instant. Her whole body felt like it was filled with a strange, tingling energy, and she couldn’t help but moan softly as Russ’s lips met hers. She knew that she should have asked questions first. She should have demanded to know whether he would stay in Torch Lake. She should have warned him that there was no way she was moving to Chicago. They had so many things to sort through before allowing themselves to give in to the passion filling both of their hearts.

But that was the funny thing about hearts. A heart never cared how much your logical, sensible brain screamed at you to stop. When a heart wanted something, the details didn’t matter. And right now, Mandy’s heart wanted Russ. In fact, her heart had never wanted anything else so badly. She shut down her mind, and let her emotions take over. If this night was all she ever had with Russ, then she wanted to enjoy it fully. God, she hoped this night was not the only one she had. But she would worry about that later.

Russ’s lips felt warm and heavenly on her own. He pressed them softly against hers while he reached up to trace the side of her face with his fingers. His movements were slow, and deliberate. And they left a trail of fire on her skin wherever he touched her.

Her heart pounded so fiercely that she felt like her whole body was pulsing to its rhythm. She felt warm and protected, like she had never before known what home felt like. Home was in Russ’s arms. His strong, dragon arms that wrapped around her now.

He slipped his tongue past her lips and let it dance with her tongue. Even his tongue left traces of fire, and she felt like her whole body was burning now, heat emanating out from his kiss into every fiber of her being. Any worries she had felt over whether being with Russ was a smart thing to do had faded away. How could this be wrong, when she felt so amazing?

Russ took his time kissing her. He ran his fingers through her hair and pressed his body against hers as he explored every last centimeter of her mouth. He ran his tongue across her teeth, her cheeks, and the roof of her mouth, and she closed her eyes so she could concentrate fully on the wonderful warmth that filled her.

She could feel that warmth centering itself between her legs now. Her whole body tingled with anticipation, begging for more of Russ. She could feel herself growing wet between her legs as the desire for him became stronger with each passing minute. She knew he felt the same. He made no effort to hide his long, stiff erection. He pressed his body harder against hers, so that she could clearly feel him between the fabric of their cheap, clearance rack pajamas. And still, he took his time. There was no rush now, here in this room. There was nothing to worry about except each other.

Russ slowly moved his mouth away from Mandy’s then reached to pull her shirt up and over her head. His already bare chest now pressed up against hers, and she felt a fresh wave of tingles spread through her body. The tingling only grew more intense as he dipped his mouth to her nipples, flicking his tongue across them gently at first, then harder. He slowly ramped up the intensity, until finally, he switched from his tongue to his teeth. The sharpness of his bite thrilled her, and she bit her own lips to hold back a moan as he bit her nipples, finding the perfect amount of pressure to drive her wild without truly causing pain.

She was dripping wet between her legs now, and she could already feel a dull, throbbing heat filling her stomach. Her desire for Russ had completely taken over her body. She felt powerless to resist, but then, why would she want to resist? Why would she ever want anything other than this glorious moment right here?

“Mandy,” Russ breathed out. The huskiness in his voice thrilled her. She opened her eyes, even though it was too dark in the room to see him properly.

“Mandy, I asked for a kiss,” he said. “I don’t want to keep going further unless—”

“More,” she said, interrupting him. “Please, Russ, more. As much as you want to give.”

She heard him exhale, a sound of relief.

“I want to give you everything,” he said. And then, he was reaching for her pajama shorts, pulling them off along with her underwear, which was now soaking wet with the juices of her desire. She felt the bed bouncing slightly as he tugged at his own pants, then tossed them aside. The trembling in her body was uncontrollable now. As he slid over her, the nakedness of his body against hers was almost too much to bear. Heat filled her, and seemed to radiate off her skin. The throbbing in her core intensified, and she let out a small whimper. How could she already feel so much ecstasy, when he wasn’t even inside her yet? Mandy had never known passion like this before.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt his erection poking at the slick, wet warmth of her entrance. He paused for just a moment, giving her a last chance to stop him if this wasn’t what she wanted. He was a perfect gentleman, but stopping him was the last thing she wanted to do right now. She wanted all of him, every last bit.

“More,” she panted.

He obliged. He slid into her, and she gasped as he filled her. She had known, from the way he felt between their clothes as they kissed, that he was large. But nothing had prepared her for just how large. He pushed against her inner walls, making room for himself as he thrust deeper and deeper into her. When he was fully in, his hipbones pressed against hers so that he had gone as far as he physically could, he paused. He held himself there, very still, for several long moments.

“I just want to feel you,” he said in a husky whisper. “God, you feel so amazing. I just want to feel this warmth forever.”

Mandy wasn’t going to complain. She felt complete with him inside of her, filling her in a way she had never been filled before. Her heart felt at peace. Her body trembled with heat and desire. Her core throbbed around Russ’s erection deep within her, and she knew she was on the very edge of tumbling into complete release. The pressure building within her was reaching a breaking point, and she had never been so ready to break.

“More,” she whispered again. And again, he obliged.

He began to rock his hips back and forth. He moved slowly at first, and the gentle rubbing inside of her kindled the flames within. It didn’t take long, though, for him to speed up, thrusting faster and harder as they both panted with wonder. The heat between them had become an inferno, and Mandy barely had time to cry out Russ’s name before her release overcame her.

She arched her back and pushed her hips up against his, unable to bear the intensity of the moment but at the same time wanting more. Her whole body pulsed with a vengeance, squeezing itself tightly around Russ’s erection inside of her. The heat in her stomach was more intense than any she had ever felt, and she thought her blood might literally have reached boiling point. She supposed that making love to a dragon had that side effect.

Russ himself was close to the edge as well. She felt his thrusting speeding up, and his panting breath growing rapider. He moaned, and then roared. And then, he stiffened and gave one last, giant thrust, pulsing into her as they succumbed to the fire together.

For a long time, neither one of them moved or spoke. They lay there, connected in body and spirit, until the heat had finally subsided into a warm glow. Russ rolled over to lie beside her, draping his arms around her shoulder as he did.

“Mandy,” he said, his voice filled with wonder as he spoke her name. She said nothing, only snuggled up against his chest and closed her eyes, basking in the aftershocks of pleasure until she finally drifted off into dreams.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sleeping when her dreams were suddenly interrupted. She sat up, instantly awake, as the sound of her emergency radio squawking filled the room. Bleary-eyed, she groped in the dark at the nightstand until her hand closed over the radio. Moments later, the room flooded with light as Russ sat up and turned on the lamp.

“Mandy! Russ! Do you copy?” Jake’s voice came warbling through the radio.

“Yes, we’re here,” Mandy said.

“Good news. We got to him before he could get away. That asshole is in custody in Torch Lake’s highest security jail.”

Mandy looked over at Russ and grinned. “I’d say on the whole, this has been a pretty damn good night.”

In response, Russ leaned in and kissed her deeply, his tongue delving into her mouth. Mandy giggled, but the sound was muffled by Russ’s mouth up against hers. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeper still, and she willingly let herself melt into his arms.

She barely even heard the radio anymore, and it’s annoying, squawking voice that drifted up around them.

“Mandy? Russ? Anyone there?”